Snapshots Of A Life
by itsnotaboutlove
Summary: They meet on a Sunday and it all goes from there.


They met on a Sunday, in the middle of the grocery store in downtown San Francisco. She's in a rush, trying to get all the items on her list before a major storm hits the city. He's trying to put enough food and beer into his basket, just in case he's locked up at his place for a day or two. And with a mountain of paperwork to go over and sign, he needs enough ammunition to get him through it all. Struggling against the shelves, she stands on her toes trying to reach for a box of cookies, but she is too damn short to grasp the box firmly in her fingers.

With a quick jump, she manages to pull the box down, along with several others. With a disgruntled huff, she sets her basket down and gets down on her knees to pull the scattered boxes together. A few seconds later, as she's reaching for the last box, a hand appears before her and grabs the box. Startled, she looks up and sees a much older man, holding his own basket.

"I-I… the shelf decided to throw a few boxes down," she shot out, as she pulled herself up and onto her feet.

He smiles at her, "I can see that," he says, his eyes twinkling with amusement.

He's taller and it makes her feel even smaller, as she stands across from him in the aisle. She clears her throat and bends down to retrieve her basket, tossing a box of the evil cookies in with the rest of her things, and looks up at the man again.

"Have a good day," she says quickly, before moving past him to escape, embarrassed with herself.

He watches as she scurries down the aisle, her floral pattered dress swishing as she moves. When she's gone, he looks down at the box in his hand and chuckles, before tossing it in with his own purchases.

The next time they meet, it's a Tuesday, several weeks after the event in the grocery store. She sits on the bench in the park, under a shady tree, reading a worn out novel of _The Great Gatsby. _It's summertime, and the temperature is soaring higher and higher as the hours go on. But on that bench, under the shady tree, she finds peace and tranquility. Meanwhile, he's out for a his daily morning jog, with his trustworthy furry companion, Watson. As they jog along the bending and winding paths in the park, the summer sun beating down on them, he can't help but think of the woman in the market. He had gone back a few days after the awful rainstorm, which flooded the streets and took the power out, hoping to see her again. But every time he went, she was never there.

Just as he and Watson make their way around the honeysuckle bushes, Watson automatically pulls against his leash, dragging his owner towards the bench. He sees a woman sitting with a book in her lap, and tries to keep his dog from ambushing her.

"Watson! No!" he shouts, as the dog jumps up onto the bench and starts licking and nudging the woman.

She jumps, startled out of the world of Daisy and Gatsby, when something starts slobbering on her. She blinks and sees that's it's a Siberian Husky, panting and barking, before nudging her with is cold and wet nose. She can hear the owner of the beautiful animal, and she can see his hand tugging at the collar.

"It's fine!" she laughed, as the dog struggled against the tugging, trying to sniff her.

She looks up and gasps at the man, knowing exactly who he is. He too is surprised to see her sitting there on the bench.

"So we meet again," she says, reaching out to give the dog a good scratch behind the ears.

He smiles at her, "That we do," he replies. "I'm sorry about my dog here. He normally doesn't act like this," he says, as Watson barks.

She laughs, "I wonder what changed his mind," she tells him, as Watson nudges her thigh with his nose. "I'm Amelia,"

"Chris,"

And just like that, their fate is set, all thanks to a dog.

It's Friday of that week, when they have their first date. Dinner and a nice walk down by the beach, where they learn about each other. He's a Captain for Starfleet, stationed at the Academy to teach Command classes and brining recruits. She's a teacher at a local elementary school, enjoying her summer break before returning in the fall. She's twenty-six, putting sixteen years between them to his forty-two years. While the difference in age should worry him, but it doesn't. She is mature for her age, putting many of his students to shame with her polite nature and intelligence. At the end of their date, he takes her back home and it's there outside her door, that they share their first kiss. It's soft and exhilarating, as she stands on her toes and wraps her arms around him.

They get married two years later on a Monday. They decide to have a small ceremony at the Town Hall in the city. They have two witnesses, her sister and his friend from the Academy, as they exchange vows and promises to love and cherish one another, in sickness and in health. Til death do they part. Afterwards, with a small party, they return to their home. Watson is with a close friend while the newlyweds take their honeymoon in Alaska. Both are refreshed and happy when they return a week later to pick him up, as he jumps and barks at his owners with happiness.

"Look how big you got!"

"He's still the same, Amelia," her husband says, as she kneels on the floor to play with Watson.

She rolls her eyes and smiles, "He looks bigger," she says, glancing up at him. "Right Watson? Who's a big boy? Hmm? I missed you so much," she says, kissing the dog's head.

For her, Watson is the first "child" she cares for. While he was Chris's first both legally and emotionally, she becomes his "Mommy", taking him for walks or watching over him as Chris goes from state to state, country to country, looking for recruits. It's there, in the front hallway of Admiral Barnett's home, that she quietly hopes for children of her own. But for now, she settles on caring for their big, overly excited dog, and for a while she's content with that.

Just shy of their two-year anniversary, she meets two men that will save her husbands life one day, on a Wednesday. Chris returns from Iowa with a shuttle of recruits, and she's waiting for him at the terminal. They had been apart for three weeks, and now he would be home for good until the following year. She waits with Watson, as Cadets move down the walkway, chattering about dorms and classes. She's too busy scanning the crowd for her husband, when a cocky blonde slides up next to her.

"Nice dog," he says.

Amelia takes in the swollen nose and bruises on the young mans face, along with the specks of blood on his shirt.

"Thank you," she says, before turning back to the crowd.

Another man comes up to them, "Come on, Kid. We need to get your face cleaned up," he drawls in a Southern accent. "Sorry Ma'am," he says, giving her a nod.

But the blonde rolls his eyes, "Relax Bones. I'm just making conversation," he says, patting his friend on the back.

Amelia turns to say something when another voice cuts her off, "Better make that conversation somewhere else, Kirk,"

She smiles as her husband comes up to them, his duffle bag hanging off his shoulder. Watson barks and jumps his owner, licking his hands and snorting in excitement.

"Bu-" Kirk starts, before Chris wraps his arm around her waist.

She laughs softly, before turning her green eyes to the two Cadets. "I'm Amelia," she says, holding out her hand. "Chris's wife,"

Two and a half years go by, and she's pregnant with their first child. She gets her results back, after two weeks with what she thought was the flu, on a Thursday. Chris is at his morning lecture, in which Jim Kirk lounges about, calling out without raising his hand. Amelia laughs at the stories Chris tells her, when he comes home for lunch. While Kirk can be overbearing, she can tell that her husband cares for him like a son and makes sure that he stays in line. On the day she gets her results, Amelia moves around the house, cleaning up and getting lunch together. When the sandwiches are done and on the table, Chris comes through the kitchen. He gives her a quick kiss and pulls his jacket off, laying it on the back of a chair.

"I hope your morning has gone more smoothly than mine," he says, sitting down at the table.

She turns around and leans against the counter, her hands resting lightly against her still flat belly.

"Chris," she starts, feeling the rush of excitement and nervousness running through her, "I'm pregnant,"

It's silence between them, before he stands up and rushes to her, pulling her into his arms. He can't stop touching her stomach, marveling over how in a few short months it'll be round and filled with their child. She cries tears of happiness as they stand in the kitchen, holding one another and think about their future and talk of getting everything together for their newest addition to their family.

Nine months later, Amelia gives birth to a baby boy on a Saturday. She's up early in the morning, as Chris gets ready for a meeting at the Academy, when she goes into the early stages labor. She hides the contractions as he gets ready, and assures him that she's fine when he watches as she rubs her back.

"Just a swift kick, that's all," she says, before kissing him goodbye.

It takes only two hours, before she's calling from the hospital, informing Chris that the baby is coming. He swears and rushes from the meeting to the hospital, reaching his wife's bedside as a contraction ends. She's glad to see him and doesn't tell him that she drove herself to the hospital, deciding to keep that information to herself until after the baby is born. Twelve hours later, Andrew Thomas Pike comes into the world. He has his mothers' eyes and his fathers' nose, and he's eight pounds of love and pride of the Captain and teacher. Afterwards, as the new mother sleeps, Chris sits by her bedside with their son. He talks of space, stars and planets. About his mother and how they waited so long to meet him.

Three weeks later and her husband is being rushed off into space for an emergency. It's a Friday afternoon, and she's busy trying to put Andrew down for a nap, when she gets a call.

"Hello?" she answers, as Andrew cries in her arms.

"Mia? It's me, honey,"

She smiles, "Hi, baby. What's up?"

She shifts Andrew into a comfortable position and his cries turn into whimpers, before he goes silent. Letting out a sigh of relief, she turns her attention back to the call.

"We're heading out. We got a call about a disturbance over Vulcan," he tells her, and she knows he's already onboard the new ship.

"Oh, how bad is it?" she asks, as a feeling of fear rushes over her.

Watson is sitting on the floor by her feet, watching as she talks to Chris. For a split second, Amelia assumes that he has the same feeling too.

"Hopefully not that bad. But, I wont be home for dinner," he says, with a sigh.

She tells him not to worry and to be safe, before they end the call with "I love you" and a promise to give Andrew a kiss for him. It's not until later that night, when Amelia hears from Admiral Barnett that the seven Federation ships that went out to Vulcan are destroyed with massive causalities and that Vulcan was destroyed in the process. There's no word on the _Enterprise_ and Chris isn't answering her calls, which makes her panic. That night, she doesn't sleep. Instead she sits by Andrews' crib and watches as he sleeps, his little chest rising and falling with each breath.

The next day, she sits at home and waits for any information. Barnett promises to call her if he hears anything, but the day goes by with no word. But she knows her husband is alive, a feeling that runs deep into her bones and clenches her heart assures her that he is. The news blares about an object above the San Francisco bay from an unknown source. Starfleet and every other governmental force is scrambling, as new reports shuffle sheets of papers and focus on the voices from their earpieces. By ten that evening, after Andrew went down for bed, Barnett calls and confirms that the _Enterprise _destroyed a Romulan ship and that Chris is alive.

They reunited the next day- a Sunday- in a private room of the hospital. She bursts into tears and can't help but cling onto him, as he reassures her that he's fine. Once she gets her tears under control, he tells her what happened. The attack on the Federation ships, going out onto the enemy ship and becoming a hostage. Kirk and Spock coming back to save his life. At that point, Leonard McCoy comes in and discusses his injuries. Nerve damage from a slug that attached itself to his spine, causing him to lose function of his legs. The young doctor promises to find the best physical therapists and specialists to help him, and promises to get the man back onto his feet. Amelia can't help but hug the almost always-grumpy man, thanking him for saving his life. The Southern blushes and mumbles a thank you, before rushing out. A few hours later, as Amelia sits and watches as Chris holds their baby, Jim and Spock arrive. She quickly hugs them both, thanking them like she thanked Leonard.

"It was my pleasure, Ma'am. Your husband is the best that Starfleet's ever had," Jim tells her, as the older man chuckles as Andrew blows spit bubbles. "And I couldn't let your son grow up without his father," he says, as his eyes stay on the father and son.

Later that night, as Andrew slept in a makeshift bassinet from the nursery, Amelia lays next to her husband in his hospital bed. He holds her as she dozes in and out of consciousness, fighting to stay awake.

"Go to sleep, Mia. I'm not going anywhere," he whispers, as she jolts out of another short nap.

"Promise?" she whispers, barely hearing herself.

"I promise," he tells her, laying his hand on top of hers, as it rests on his chest.

As she lays with her head on his chest, Amelia looks out the window, her eyes focused on the moon. Big, bright and white. The stars twinkle like diamonds, and for a second, she thinks that they are planets and alien ships flying amongst the deep, dark sky. From the hospital bed, they are beautiful and powerful, as they blanket the sky. The sound of crickets, pages, the sounds of her husband and child breathing, calm her. With one last look at the moon, Amelia closes her eyes and allows the pull of unconsciousness to take her. She knows that Chris will be there when she wakes up in the morning.


End file.
